Read which areas of Bury St Edmunds will benefit from £2.8m transport improvements during 2017-2018
An aerial shot of Bury St Edmunds in 2008. Picture: ANDY ABBOTT - Credit: Archant
Details of a multi-million-pound project to make travelling in Bury St Edmunds easier for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians have been announced today.
Work on the £2.8m “sustainable transport scheme” will start this summer and will be carried out in four phases, with the final stage due to be completed by April 2018.
It is jointly funded by New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership and Suffolk County Council and will include:
• Parkway/Cullum Road
Replacement of two mini roundabouts with single roundabout.
Signal upgrades.
Widen pedestrian footways.
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• Tollgate Lane roundabout
Improve flow of gyratory.
Signal upgrades.
• Tayfen Road roundabout and Northgate roundabout
Improve facilities for pedestrians and cyclists to cross Tayfen Road.
New cycle infrastructure, such as cycleway provided in Out Northgate and toucan crossing installed in Northgate roundabout/Tayfen Road.
Widening of some vehicular approach lanes.
• Spread Eagle Roundabout
Signal upgrade to make the junctions more efficient.
Reconfiguration of crossings to allow better pedestrian and cycle movement.
James Finch, Suffolk County Council’s cabinet member for highways and transport, said: “We’re keen to invest in our historic towns and as traffic volumes and populations grow, the county council recognises the impact of investing in infrastructure so pedestrians and cyclists, users of public transport and of course motorists, can move around more safely.
“It’s about increasing capacity at a number of known bottlenecks. This is a significant investment that recognises in particular future increases in road users making their way to Bury St Edmunds’ thriving town centre.”
Chris Starkie, managing director of New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership, said the changes would help reduce congestion.
However, Paul Hopfensperger, Independent borough and town councillor for St Olaves ward in Bury St Edmunds, has criticised the scheme for its inclusion of one new set of traffic lights and upgrades to others.
He said: “There is no place for traffic lights of any type in any 21st Century road schemes.”
John Griffiths, leader of St Edmundsbury Borough Council, said today’s announcement came at a time when organisations in the town and the surrounding areas were looking at how they could best cater for future growth.
